Method for closing fluid passage, and water hammerless valve device and water hammerless closing device used in the method

ABSTRACT

A fluid passage is emergently-closed in a short time without causing a water hammer by an extremely simple device and operation. A water hammerless closing device includes an actuator operated valve provided in a fluid passage, an electro-pneumatic conversion device for supplying a 2-step actuator operating pressure Pa to an actuator operated-type valve, a vibration sensor removably secured to the pipe passage on the upstream side of the actuator operated-type valve, and a tuning box receiving a vibration detection signal Pr from the vibration sensor and delivering a control signal Sc to the electro-pneumatic conversion device for controlling the step operating pressure Ps′ of the 2-step actuator operating pressure Pa so that, with the control signal Sc being regulated, the electro-pneumatic conversion device outputs the 2-step actuator operating pressure Pa with the step operating pressure Ps′ capable of bringing the vibration detection signal Pr substantially to zero.

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/425,028, filed Jun. 19, 2007, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/152,638 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,080,658), filedJun. 15, 2005, which is a Continuation of International PatentApplication No. PCT/JP2003/016287 filed Dec. 18, 2003, which claimspriority on Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-367420, filed Dec. 19,2002. The entire disclosures of the above patent applications are herebyincorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is concerned with improvements in a water hammerprevention system in which the water-hammer effect is completelyprevented when urgently or promptly closing a fluid passage. The presentinvention is particularly concerned with a method for closing the fluidpassage that is capable of urgently or promptly closing the waterpassage without causing the occurrence of the water hammer effectirrespective of the fluid pressure involved. The present invention isalso concerned with a water hammerless valve device, and a waterhammerless closing device, used in the method for closing the fluidpassage.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is well known that when a passage in which a fluid, such as water orthe like, passes through is abruptly closed, there occurs the so-called“water hammer.” The “water hammer” is a pressure effect manifested bythe fluid in the passage under these conditions in which the pressureinside the passage vibratingly rises upstream of the place or pointwhere the passage is closed abruptly.

When a water hammer is created, various problems, such as breakdown ofdevices or instruments connected to the fluid passage, are caused by thevibrating rise of the internal pressure in the upstream side passage.

Therefore, various techniques have been developed to prevent waterhammer. However, these techniques basically address the water hammereffect by (1) making the time for closing the fluid passage long (i.e.,so closing of the fluid passage is not so abrupt), or (2) by having thevibrating pressure generated inside the passage released to the outsideby opening a bypass passage, or (3) by absorbing the water hammer usinga separately installed accumulator. The method by which the time forclosing the passage is lengthened is undesirably time-consuming with theresult that this method can not be applied to situations where there isthe need of urgent (or rapid) closing of the fluid passage. On the otherhand, the other two methods for avoiding the water hammer necessarilyinvolve attachments to the fluid passage, which adds cost to building asystem and to practicing a method for closing a fluid passage withoutgenerating a water hammer. The added costs for these attachments is toohigh.

The water hammer related problems discussed above have arisen previouslyin industrial fields where the fluid flowing in the passage involved arelatively great flow rate. In recent years, however, avoiding the waterhammer effect has become desirable even in fields where the fluid moveswith a small flow rate. For example, in the fields of wet type oxidefilm treatment of silicon in the semiconductor manufacturing industry,or wafer cleaning apparatus development, or the development of chemicalliquid supply systems and in the field of medicine production,prevention of water hammer generation during urgent (or prompt) closureof the fluid supply passage has been strongly required in order tomaintain the facilities of production, upgrade the product quality, andreduce the opening/closing time of valves in accordance with increasedfrequency of valve opening/closing.

Examples of prior art devices and methods employed for addressing theproblem of the generation of a water hammer include: (a) PatentDocument 1. Toku-Kai-Hei No. 7-190235, which describes a valve controldevice; (b) Patent Document 2 Toku-Kai No. 2000-10602, which describes aPID control method and its controller; and (c) Patent Document 3Toku-Kai No. 2002-295705, which describes a motor-operated valve forpreventing water hammer, and its controlling method.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for closinga fluid passage, and a water hammerless valve device and a hammerlessclosing device used in the method which can solve the afore-mentionedproblems of the conventional water hammer prevention techniques. Inother words, it is an object of the present invention to avoid thedisadvantages of the prior art methods, which are (1) methods in whichthe time for closing the fluid passage is relatively long and can notfully cope with the needs for urgent or prompt closure of the fluidpassage, and (2) methods which seek to absorb, or release, the vibratingpressure of the water hammer by the installation of expensiveattachments.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a method forclosing a fluid passage, and a water hammerless valve device and ahammerless closing device used in the method for closing the fluidpassage that can urgently (or promptly) close the fluid passage in anextremely short period of time (for example, less than 1000 m sec),without causing the water hammer effect, by closing a valve installed inthe fluid passage in a multi-step operation.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a method forclosing a fluid passage, and a water hammerless valve device and a waterhammerless closing device used in the method for closing a fluid passagethat can promptly and surely close the fluid passage without causing thewater hammer. wherein the conditions for closing the valve withoutcausing the water hammer are determined in advance by actuallyconducting valve closing tests so that the actuator of the valve body isoperated by an electro-pneumatic conversion device storing the abovementioned valve-closing conditions.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a method for closing the valve of a fluidpassage by employing a multi-step operation in which (i) the valve bodyof the passage closing valve is permitted to promptly move to apredetermined position short of full closure of the valve body, andthen, (ii) the valve body is permitted to move to the valve closingposition after a short lapse of time. In developing the presentinvention, the inventors have also conducted a number of analysis testson the mechanism of occurrence of the water hammer by using the presentclosing method.

The inventors of the present invention have unexpectedly discovered, asa result of the afore-mentioned tests, that the water hammer can beprevented by permitting the valve body to stop at a position within aspecific range in the first step of closing the valve.

The present invention has been constructed on the basis of theafore-mentioned findings. The present invention, in accordance with afirst embodiment, relates to a method for closing a fluid passage with anearly constant internal pressure in the pipe passage by using anactuator operated-type valve installed in the fluid passage, wherein,first, (a) a valve body is moved in the valve closing direction byincreasing or decreasing the driving input to the afore-mentionedactuator to a predetermined value, and then (b) the above mentioneddriving input to the actuator is further increased or decreased to fullyclose the valve after the driving input to the actuator is maintained atthe afore-mentioned value for a short period of time, thus making itpossible to close the fluid passage while causing no water hammer.

The present invention, in accordance with a second embodiment, relatesto a method for closing a fluid passage with a nearly constant internalpressure in the pipe passage by an actuator operated-type valveinstalled in the fluid passage, wherein, first, (a) a valve body ismoved in the valve closing direction by increasing or decreasing thedriving input to the afore-mentioned actuator to maintain a valve strokein the neighborhood of a predetermined value, and then (b) the drivinginput to the actuator is further increased or decreased to fully closethe valve after the valve stroke is maintained at the aforementionedpredetermined value for a short period of time, thus making it possibleto close the fluid passage without causing a water hammer.

The present invention, in accordance with a third embodiment, relates toa method for closing a fluid passage with a non-constant fluid pressureby using an actuator operated-type valve installed in the passage,wherein, firs, (a) a valve body is moved in the valve closing directionby increasing or decreasing the driving input to the afore-mentionedactuator to maintain a valve stroke in the neighborhood of apredetermined value, and then (b) the driving input to the actuator isfurther increased or decreased to fully close the valve after the valvestroke is maintained in the neighborhood of the predetermined value fora short period of time, thus making it possible to urgently close thepassage without causing a water hammer.

The present invention, in accordance with a fourth embodiment, relatesto a method for closing a fluid passage in accordance with either thefirst, second or third embodiments of the invention, wherein the valveis a normally closed-type pneumatic diaphragm valve or a constant volumeand normally closed-type pneumatic diaphragm valve whose valve insidevolume remains unchanged at the time when the valve is in operation.

The present invention, in accordance with a fifth embodiment, relates toa method for closing a fluid passage in accordance with either thefirst, second, third or fourth embodiments of the present invention,wherein the time needed to close the valve is set to be extremely short,and a rise value of the pressure of the fluid passage is permitted to bewithin 10% of the pressure value shown before the valve is closed.

The present invention, in accordance with a sixth embodiment, relates toa water hammerless valve device for closing a fluid passage thatincludes: (a) a valve body, (b) an actuator for driving the valve, body,(b) an automatic driving force controller for adjusting the drivingforce to be inputted to the actuator, (c) a valve stroke detector fordetecting a valve stroke of the valve body, and (d) a control circuit towhich a valve opening/closing command signal S, a valve stroke detectionsignal Sp and valve stroke setting signal SG are inputted and from whicha driving force controlling signal SR is outputted to theafore-mentioned automatic driving force controller so that the valvebody is completely closed by the actuator after the valve stroke of thevalve body is maintained at a set value for a short period of time.

The present invention, in accordance with a seventh embodiment, relatesto a water hammerless valve device in accordance with the sixthembodiment, wherein the valve body is a diaphragm-type valve, and theactuator is a pneumatically operated-type actuator.

The present invention, in accordance with an eighth embodiment, relatesto a water hammerless valve device in accordance with either the sixthembodiment or the seventh embodiment, wherein the valve body is anormally closed-type diaphragm-type valve, and furthermore, the timeneeded for fully closing the valve is set extremely short by the controlcircuit.

The present invention, in accordance with a ninth embodiment, relates toa water hammerless fluid passage closing device that includes: a waterhammerless valve device provided with a valve body, an actuator fordriving the valve body, an automatic driving force controller foradjusting the driving force to be inputted to the actuator, a valvestroke detector for detecting a valve stroke of the valve body, and acontrol circuit to which a valve opening/closing command signal S, avalve stroke detection signal Sp and a valve stroke setting signal SGare inputted and from which a driving force signal SR is outputted tothe afore-mentioned automatic driving force controller so that the valvebody is completely closed by the actuator after the valve stroke of thevalve body is maintained at a set value for a short period of time; apressure detection sensor for detecting the fluid pressure in theprimary side passage; and a computing/storage device provided with acomparison circuit to which a pressure detection signal P1 for theinternal pressure in the fluid passage from the afore-mentioned pressuredetection sensor, a closing time detection signal T from the closingtime detection sensor, an allowable pressure rise valve setting signalPM and a closing time setting signal TS are inputted and in which thecomparison between the afore-mentioned detection signal P1 and theallowable pressure rise valve setting signal PM and further thecomparison between the closing time detection signal T and the closingtime setting signal TS are effected, a storage circuit for storing thedata relating to the relation between the pressure rise value and thestroke setting value corresponding to closing time, and a computingcircuit for selecting the most suitable stroke setting value for theallowable pressure rise value setting signal PM and the closing timesetting signal TS out of the comparison results in the comparisoncircuit.

The present invention, in accordance with a tenth embodiment, relates toa device in accordance with the ninth embodiment, wherein the controlcircuit of the water hammerless valve device is so constructed that theclosing time setting signal TS is inputted into the control circuit sothat the time for closing the fluid passage can be controlled byadjusting the operation speed of the actuator at the time of the valveclosing operation.

The present invention, in accordance with an eleventh embodiment,relates to a water hammerless closing device that includes: (a) a valvebody; (b) an actuator for driving the valve body, (c) a vibration sensorremovably secured to the pipe passage on the upstream side of the valve;(d) an electro-pneumatic conversion control device to which a valveopening/closing command signal is inputted and which controls anactuator operating pressure Pa to be inputted to the actuator by thecontrol signal Sc stored in the data storage unit in advance; and (e) acomputing control device provided with a comparison computing circuit towhich a vibration detection signal Pr from the afore-mentioned vibrationsensor, a step pressure setting signal Ps to be supplied to theactuator, a holding time setting signal Ts for maintaining the steppressure, and an allowable upper limit vibration setting signal Prm areinputted and which makes a comparison between the afore-mentionedvibration detection signal Pr and the allowable upper limit vibrationpressure setting signal Prm for modifying the step pressure settingsignal Ps such that the control signal Sc comprising the afore-mentionedholding time setting signal Ts and the modified step pressure settingsignal Ps is outputted to the data storage unit of the afore-mentionedelectro-pneumatic conversion control device.

The present invention, in accordance with a twelfth embodiment, relatesto a device in accordance with the eleventh embodiment, wherein thecomputing control device comprises a step pressure setting circuit>, aholding time setting circuit, an allowable upper limit vibrationpressure setting circuit, a vibration pressure detection circuit, and acomparison computing circuit, and the step pressure setting signal Ps ismodified and raised in the event that the vibration detection signal Prindicated immediately after the actuator operating pressure is changedin a step manner exceeds the allowable upper limit vibration pressuresetting signal Prm, while the step pressure setting signal Ps ismodified and lowered in the event that the vibration detection signal Prindicated immediately after the actuator operating pressure is broughtto zero from the intermediate step operating pressure exceeds theallowable upper limit vibration pressure setting signal Prm.

The present invention, in accordance with a thirteenth embodiment,relates to a device in accordance with the eleventh embodiment, whereinthe electro-pneumatic conversion control device comprises a data storageunit to store the control signal Sc from the computing control device, asignal conversion unit and an electro-pneumatic conversion unit, whereinan actuator operating pressure control signal Se and an actuatoroperating pressure Pa are outputted from the signal conversion unit andthe electro-pneumatic conversion unit respectively on the basis of thecontrol signal Sc′ for no water hammer stored in the data storage unitin advance.

The present invention, in accordance with a fourteenth embodiment,relates to a water hammerless closing device that includes: (a) anactuator operated-type valve installed in a fluid passage, (b) anelectro-pneumatic conversion device to supply a 2-step actuatoroperating pressure Pa to the actuator operated type valve, (c) avibration sensor removably secured to the pipe passage on the upstreamside of the afore-mentioned actuator operated type valve, and (d) atuning box to which a vibration detection signal Pr detected by thevibration sensor is inputted and which outputs a control signal Sc tothe electro-pneumatic conversion device to control the level of a stepoperating pressure Ps′ of the afore-mentioned 2-step actuator operatingpressure Pa so that the electro-pneumatic conversion device is permittedto output, by adjusting the control signal Sc, the 2-step actuatoroperating pressure Pa with the step operating signal Ps′ capable ofbringing the vibration detection signal Pr to near-zero.

The present invention, in accordance with a fifteenth embodiment,relates to a method for closing a fluid passage, wherein (a) a vibrationsensor is removably provided on the upstream side of an actuatoroperated type valve installed in the fluid passage, (b) a vibrationdetection signal Pr from the vibration sensor is inputted to a tuningbox, and (c) a control signal Sc from the tuning box is inputted to anelectro-pneumatic conversion device so that a 2-step actuator operatingpressure Pa generated in the electro-pneumatic conversion device by theafore-mentioned control signal. Sc is supplied to the actuator forclosing the actuator operated type valve in a 2-step operation, whereinthe relative relation between the 2-step actuator operated pressure Pato be supplied to the actuator and the vibration detection signal Pr ischecked in the tuning box, and (d) a step operating pressure Ps′ israised in the event that vibration is generated at the time when theactuator operating pressure Pa is lowered in the first step, while thestep operating pressure Ps′ is lowered in the event that vibration isgenerated at the time when the actuator operating pressure Pa is loweredin the second step so that a plural number of adjustments by raising orlowering the afore-mentioned step operating pressure Ps′ are repeated toobtain the step operating pressure Ps′ of the 2-step operating pressurePa which can bring the vibration detection signal Pr to near-zero,thereby closing the afore-mentioned actuator operated-type valve on thebasis of the data of the control signal Sc provided at the time when the2-step operating pressure Pa with the step operation pressure Ps,′capable of bringing the generation of vibration to near-zero, isoutputted from the electro-pneumatic conversion device.

The present invention, in accordance with a sixteenth embodiment,relates to a method to close a fluid passage, wherein (a) a vibrationsensor is removably provided on the upstream side of an actuatoroperated valve installed in the fluid passage, (b) a vibration detectionsignal Pr from the vibration sensor is inputted to a tuning box, and (c)a control signal Sc from the tuning box is inputted to anelectro-pneumatic conversion device so that a 2-step actuator operatingpressure Pa generated at the electro-pneumatic conversion device by theafore-mentioned control signal Sc is supplied to the actuator forclosing the actuator operated type valve in a 2 step operation, whereinthe relative relation between the 2-step actuator operating pressure Paand the vibration detection signal Pr is checked in the tuning box, and(d) a step operating pressure Ps′ is lowered in the event that vibrationis generated at the time when the actuator operation pressure Pa israised in the first step, while the step operating pressure Ps′ israised in the event that vibration is generated at the time when theactuator operating pressure Pa is raised in the second step so that aplural number of adjustments by raising or lowering the afore-mentionedstep operating pressure Ps′ are repeated to obtain the step operatingpressure Ps′ of the 2-step operating pressure Pa which can bring thevibration detection signal Pr to near-zero, thereby closing theafore-mentioned actuator operated-type valve on the basis of the data ofthe control signal Sc provided at the time when the 2-step operatingpressure Pa with the step operating pressure Ps,′ capable of bringingthe generation of the said vibration to near-zero, is outputted from theelectro-pneumatic conversion device.

The present invention, in accordance with a seventeenth embodiment,relates to a method in accordance with either the fifteenth embodimentor the sixteenth embodiment, wherein the vibration sensor and the tuningbox are allowed to be removed after the data of the control signal Scfor outputting the 2-step operating pressure Pa capable of bringing thegeneration of vibration to near-zero has been inputted to the storagedevice of the electro-pneumatic conversion device.

The present invention, in accordance with an eighteenth embodiment,relates to a method in accordance with either the fifteenth embodimentor the sixteenth embodiment, wherein the vibration sensor is locatedwithin 1000 mm upstream of the location where the actuator operated-typevalve is provided.

The present invention, in accordance with a nineteenth embodiment,relates to a method in accordance with either the fifteenth embodimentor the sixteenth embodiment, wherein the step operating pressure holdingtime t of the 2-step operating pressure Pa is set at less than 1 second.

Further objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the Detailed Description of IllustrativeEmbodiments, which follows, when considered together with the attacheddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of the testing device used for detecting theoccurrence of water hammer in the fluid passage.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram to show an electro-pneumatic conversiondevice used for the testing device, wherein (a) is a basic block diagramand (b) is a block diagram.

FIG. 3 is a diagram to illustrate the relation between an input signal I(input voltage V) and an output pressure Pa (kgf/c m²·G) in theelectro-pneumatic conversion device 5 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is; a diagram illustrating how the internal pressure P1 in thepipe passage L1 upstream of a valve changes in the multi-step type valveclosing with the internal pressure P1 in the pipe passage L1 being keptconstant when the pressure Pa for driving the actuator is changedwherein (a) illustrates the case where Pa is closed from 5 kgf/c m²·Gdirectly to 0 kg, (b) illustrates the case where Pa is lowered from 5kgfc m²·G to 1.9 kgf/c m²·G and then to 0, (c) illustrates the casewhere Pa is lowered in steps from 5→1.66→0 kgf/c m²·G, (d) illustratesthe case where Pa is lowered in steps from 5→1.65→0 kgf/c m²·G, (e)illustrates the case where Pa is lowered in steps from 5→1.62→0 kgf/cm²·G, and (f) illustrates the case where Pa is lowered in steps from5→1.50→0.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the drivingpressure Pa to the actuator and the pressure rise ΔP1 in the multi-steptype closing where the internal pressure P1 of the pipe passage is keptconstant.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating how a valve stroke ΔG changes in themulti-step type closing, with the internal pressure in the passage P1being kept constant, when the driving pressure Pa supplied to theactuator is changed wherein (a) illustrates the case where Pa is changedfrom 5 kgf/c m²·G (full opening) to 0 (full closing), (b) illustratesthe case where Pa is changed from 5 kgf/c m²·G (full opening) to 1.9kgf/c m²·G (intermediate opening) and then to 0 (full closing), (c)illustrates the case where Pa is changed in steps from 5→1.66→0 kgf/cm²·G, (d) illustrates the case where Pa is changed in steps from5→1.65→0 kgf/c m²·G, (e) illustrates the case where Pa is changed insteps from 5→1.62→0 kgf/c m²·G, and (f) illustrates the case where Pa ischanged in steps from 5→1.50→0 kgf/c m²·G.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the valvestroke ΔG (mm) and the pressure rise ΔP1 in the pipe passage L1 duringmulti-step type closing where the internal pressure P1 in the pipepassage is kept constant.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating how the internal pressure P1 in thepipe passage changes in the multi-step type closing (i.e., Pa=5→1.65→0kgf/c m²·G) where the tank pressure (i.e., the internal pressure P1 inthe pipe passage) is changed, wherein (a) illustrates the case where thetank internal pressure P1=3 kgf/c m²·G, (b) illustrates the case whereP1=2 kgf/c m²·G and (c) illustrates the case where P1=1 kgf/c m²·G, and(d) illustrates the case where P1=3 kgf/c m²·G.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the actuatordriving pressure Pa and the valve stroke ΔG in the FIG. 8 tests, wherein(a) illustrates the case where the tank internal pressure PT is 3 kgf/cm²—G, (b) illustrates the case where PT=2 kgf/c m²·G, and (c)illustrates the case where PT=1 kgf/c m²·G.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the tankinternal pressure PT and the actuator operating pressure Pa, which canprevent the water hammer effect where the valve is subjected to themulti-step type closing.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the valvestroke ΔG and pressure rise ΔP1 in the pipe passage with the tankpressure PT being a parameter where the valve is subjected to themulti-step type closing.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged/expanded view of an important portion of FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a whole block schematic diagram of a water hammerless valvedevice in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a whole block schematic diagram of a first embodiment of thedevice for water-hammerless closing of the fluid passage in accordancewith the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a whole block schematic diagram of a second embodiment of thedevice for water-hammerless closing of the fluid passage in accordancewith the present invention.

FIG. 16 provides explanatory drawings to illustrate control of theactuator operating pressure Pa in FIG. 16 (a), and an example of thegeneration of vibration, provided in FIG. 16 (b), in the waterhammerless device of FIG. 15.

FIG. 17 is a whole system diagram schematically illustrating the waterhammerless closing device in accordance with a third embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 18 is a schematic drawing of the PC screen display of a tuning boxprovided in accordance with certain embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 19 is a block schematic diagram of an electro-pneumatic conversiondevice in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a flow chart of the auto-tuning operation employed inaccordance with certain embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 21 provides an explanatory drawing to illustrate the relationshipbetween the driving pressure Pa and generation of vibration in theauto-tuning operation.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the steppressure holding time t for the step-type driving pressure Pa and thepressure rise value ΔP.

LIST OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS AND NUMERALS

-   PT designates the internal pressure of a water tank.-   L1 designates a pipe passage upstream of a valve.-   P1 designates an internal pressure in the pipe passage.-   P a designates an actuator operating pressure.-   Pao designates an air supply pressure.-   ΔG designates a valve stroke.-   S designates a valve opening/closing command signal.-   SG designates a valve stroke setting signal.-   SR designates a-driving force controlling signal.-   Sp designates a valve stroke detection signal.-   1 designates a water tank.-   2 designates a source for pressurizing the water tank.-   3 designates a pressure sensor.-   4 designates a valve.-   4 a designates an actuator.-   5 designates an electro-pneumatic conversion device.-   6 designates a valve driving gas source.-   7 designates a signal generator.-   8 designates a storage oscilloscope.-   10 designates a valve body.-   11 designates an actuator.-   12 designates an automatic driving force controller (i.e., an    automatic pressure controller).-   13 designates a control circuit.-   14 designates a valve stroke detector (i.e., a position detector).-   15 designates a computing/storage unit.-   16 designates a computing control device.-   17 designates an electro-pneumatic conversion control device.-   18 designates a vibration sensor.-   19 designates a tuning box.-   20 designates an electro-pneumatic conversion device.-   TC designates a closing time detection sensor.-   T designates a closing time detection signal.-   TS designates a closing time setting signal.-   P1 designates a pressure detection signal.-   PM designates an allowable pressure rise value setting signal.-   Pr designates a vibration detection signal.-   Prm designates an allowable upper limit vibration pressure setting    signal.-   Ps designates a step pressure setting signal.-   Ts designates a signal for setting the time for maintaining step    pressure (a closing time setting signal).-   Sc designates a control signal.-   t designates time for maintaining step pressure, and-   Ps′ designates Step operating pressure.

DETAILED EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION

The apparatus and methods of the present invention pertain to a waterhammerless valve device for closing a fluid passage and various methodsfor closing a fluid passage. The apparatus and method embodiment, inaccordance with the present invention, are described with reference tothe attached Figures wherein like parts are designated by like characterreferences. Prior to describing the invention, a brief description ofthe observations and principles applied in the development of theinvention follows.

Investigation and Observations Pertaining to Flow in Flow Passage

In order to investigate how a water hammer is caused or generated in themoisture, or water, supply lines for semiconductor manufacturingequipment, the inventors have studied and observed pressure changes inthe flow passage, which occur when the flow passage is switched from thefull opening state to the full closing state by employing a pneumatic(i.e., air pressure operated) diaphragm valve. In this disclosure, the“full opening state” is the state of the flow passage where flow in theflow passage is free and without impediment, such as when a valve in theflow passage is fully open, and the “full closing state” is the state ofthe flow passage where flow in the flow passage is zero, such as occurswhen a valve in the flow passage is fully closed. Also, the inventorshave studied and observed pressure changes in the flow passage when theflow passage is in an “intermediate state,” which is the state of theflow passage that is intermediate between the full opening state and thefull closing state such as occurs when a valve in the flow passage ispartially closed and therefore partially open.

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of the testing device used for investigatingthe pressure changes that occur when a valve in a flow passage isswitched between the full opening state to the full closing state, withor without an intermediate state (also referred to as the “intermediateopening state”). As shown in FIG. 1, the testing device includes a watertank 1, a source 2 of a fluid for pressurizing the water tank, apressure sensor 3, a valve 4, an electro-pneumatic conversion device 5,a valve driving gas source 6, a signal generator 7 and a storageoscilloscope 8. In particular, the source 2 is connected to the watertank 1 so as to provide fluid for pressurizing the water tank. Thepressure sensor 3 is connected to sense the pressure in the flow passageupstream of valve 4. The valve is connected to and controlled by theelectro-pneumatic conversion device 5, which receives signal input Ifrom signal generator 7. The electro-pneumatic conversion device 5 ispowered by the valve driving gas source 6. The storage oscilloscope isconnected to receive signal information from pressure sensor 3 and toreceive signal input pertaining to the state of the electro-pneumaticconversion device 5.

The water tank 1 is provided with the capacity of 30 liters and is of ahermetically sealed structure that is used to store about 25 liters ofliquid (i.e., water of 25° C.) therein. The water tank is 1 ispressurized by N2, a fluid from the pressurization source 2, and thepressure is adjustable within the range of 100˜300 KpaG. The pressuresensor 3 is capable of detecting water or moisture pressure upstream ofthe valve 4 with high sensitivity. A diffusion semiconductor-typepressure sensor is employed in the test device.

A diaphragm-type pneumatic valve is used as the valve 4, and thespecifications thereof are as follows: (i) fluid inlet pressure 0.1 MPa,(ii) fluid outlet pressure 0.3 MPa, (iii) fluid temperature 10˜100° C.and CV value 0.27, (iv) operating air pressure 0.3˜0.6 MPa, (v)materials of the parts contacting the liquid (i.e., PTFE for a valvebody and PTFE for a diaphragm), and (vi) an inside diameter of thepassage is 4 mm. In other words, the valve 4 is a pneumatic diaphragmvalve that is normally in the fully closed state, and has a valve bodymade of synthetic resin. The diaphragm valve body is urged, by theelastic force of springs (not shown), to normally rest on the valve seatso that the valve 4 is maintained in the closed state (i.e., the fullyclosing state). An actuator 4 a, connected to valve 4, is operated whenpneumatic pressure for operation is supplied by the electro-pneumaticconversion device 5 with the result that the diaphragm valve body ofvalve 4 is moved away from the valve seat and maintained in the openedstate (i.e., either the fully opening state or in an intermediateopening state).

Accordingly, when the pneumatic diaphragm valve of the normallyclosed-type is to be closed, it is necessary to reduce the pneumaticpressure for operation supplied by the electro-pneumatic conversiondevice 5 to the actuator 4 a for opening the valve 4.

A person of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that it is withinthe scope of the present invention to employ a normally opened-typepneumatic diaphragm valve to replace the afore-mentioned normallyclosed-type pneumatic diaphragm valve. In the case where such asubstitution is made, the valve 4 is closed by raising the pneumaticpressure supplied to the actuator 4 a because the valve 4 is constructedso that the diaphragm valve body is urged, by the elastic force ofsprings (not shown), to not normally rest-on the valve seat, which meansthe valve is maintained in the opened state (i.e., the fully openingstate).

Thus, the electro-pneumatic conversion device 5 is used to supply adriving pressure (i.e., air pressure) to the actuator 4 a of valve 4,wherein the driving pressure corresponds to an input signal directing(or setting) the degree of opening of the valve. In other words, theelectro-pneumatic conversion device 5 provides the driving pressure usedto set the state of the valve 4, such as the fully opening state, thefully closing state, or some intermediate opening state. In the testdevice of FIG. 1, an electro-pneumatic conversion device 5 of theconstruction illustrated in FIG. 2 is used.

The electro-pneumatic conversion devices shown in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b)operate as follows. When the input signal I is inputted to a controlcircuit A, an air supply electromagnetic valve B opens so that someportion of the pressure C, which is provided by the valve driving gassource 6, is supplied to the actuator 4 a for the valve 4. This portionof pressure C, supplied to actuator 4 a, is provided as an outputpressure Pa or D through the air supply electromagnetic valve B. Theoutput pressure Pa, or D, is also fed back to the control circuit Athrough the pressure sensor E, and correction operations are effecteduntil the output pressure Pa, or D, corresponding to the input signal Iis reached. In FIG. 2, F designates an exhaust electromagnetic valve, Gis an exhaust, H is a power source, and J is an output signal tocorrespond to the input signal I. The output signal J (or the inputsignal I) is inputted as an input voltage to a storage oscilloscope 8 asexplained below.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the linear relationship between theinput signal I (i.e., input voltage V to the afore-mentionedelectro-pneumatic conversion device 5) and the output pressure Pa (orD). In accordance with the above description of a normally closed-typepneumatic diaphragm valve, the valve 4 is maintained in the fully openedstate at the input voltage 5V (i.e., corresponding to the operatingpneumatic pressure P=about 5 kgf/c m²·G).

A compressor is employed as the air source, i.e., valve driving gassource 6, for operating the valve 4. Thus, the compressor is used as gassource 6 to supply air with the prescribed pressure to electro-pneumaticconversion device 5. And, the signal generator 7 generates the inputsignal I that is inputted into the electro-pneumatic conversion device5. In other words, input signal I is a desired voltage output outputtedby the signal generator 7 to the electro-pneumatic conversion device 5as the input signal I.

In addition, the detection pressure signal P1 (i.e., voltage V),generated by the pressure sensor 3 sensing the pressure in the upstreamside pipe passage L1, and the input signal I (i.e., input voltage V)inputted to the electro-pneumatic conversion device 5 are both inputtedto the storage oscilloscope 8 so it is possible to observe and recordchanges of the pressure P1 in the passage L1 and the input signal I(i.e., input voltage V), and the like. A storage oscilloscope 8 whosetime-axis is graduated in 500 m sec/1 is employed in the test deviceshown in FIG. 1.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the pressure PT inside the water tank 1 ismaintained at a set value of 3 kgf/c m²·G, and the air pressure Pa of 5kgf/c m²·G is supplied to the actuator 4 a to fully open the valve 4. inthis case, the inside diameter of the pipe passage L1, between the valve4 and the water tank 1, was constructed to be 4.0 mm with the length ofabout 2.5 m, and a water flow rate Q through this pipe passage L1 wasabout 3.45 liters/min.

Next, changes of the internal pressure P1 in the upstream side of thepipe passage L1 were observed, using the oscilloscope 8, when the airpressure Pa supplied to the actuator 4 a for the valve 4 was changed asfollows, i.e., (a) 5 kgf/c m²·G (full opening)→0 kgf/c m²·G (fullclosing), (b) 5 kgf/c m²·G (full opening)→1.9 (intermediate opening)→0(full closing), (c) 5 kgf/c m²·G (full opening)→1.66 (intermediateopening)→0 (full closing), (d) 5 kgf/c m²·G (full opening)→165(intermediate opening)→0 (full closing), (e) 5 kgf/c m²·G (fullopening)→1.62 (intermediate opening)→0 (full closing), and (f) 5 kgf/cm²·G (full opening)→1.50 (intermediate opening)→0 (full closing).

FIG. 4 shows the results observed due to the investigation. As apparentfrom FIG. 4 (a) to (f), fluctuations in the amplitude of pressure P1,with the maximum of 9.15 kgfc m²·G, were shown as illustrated in FIG.4(a) when the valve 4 was fully closed through the one-step closingprocess of 5 kgf/c m²·G (full opening)→0 (full closing). Under theconditions used in FIG. 4 (a), a water hammer occurs during closure ofthe valve 4.

On the other hand, when the air supply pressure Pa was changed in thefollowing multi-step manner, i.e., 5 kgf/c m² G (full opening)→1.65kgf/c m²·G (intermediate opening)→0 (full closing) as shown in FIG.4(d), almost no fluctuation in the pressure P1 was caused in the pipepassage L1. In other words, by employing the multi-step closingprocedure in accordance with FIG. 4(d), the complete prevention of theoccurrence of a water hammer resulted, which was unexpected.

On the other hand, when the air supply pressure Pa was changed in themulti-step manner of 5 kgf/c m²·G (full opening)→1.50 kgf/c m²·G(intermediate opening)→0 kgf/c m²·G (full closing) as shown in FIG.4(f), there were fluctuations generated in the pressure P1 in the pipepassage L1 with the maximum amplitude of 2.90 kgf/c m²·G. In otherwords, under the conditions illustrated in FIG. 4(f), a small waterhammer still occurred.

These test results indicate that when the valve 4 is switched from thefull opening state to the full closing state, the occurrence of a waterhammer can be completely prevented by going through the multi-stepclosing process where the air pressure Pa for operating the actuator 4 ais changed from 5V (full opening)→1.65V (the valve opening degree of0.072 mm/1.93 mm×100=3.73%)→0 (full closing), which corresponds toclosing the valve 4 from the full opening state to the full closingstate. In other words, it is observed that, when the internal pressureP1 in the pipe passage L1 is kept constant, then (1) the fluid passagecan be closed in about 500˜1000 msec without causing a water hammer dueto quickly closing the valve 4 from the state of full opening to thestate of a partial opening, (i.e., to a certain degree of the valveopening) and then finally to the state of full closing after a shortlapse of time, and (2) the water hammer is not necessarily prevented byusing a multi-step closing process in the event that the intermediatestoppage position of the valve body (i.e., the degree of the partialopening of the valve body) is not equal to a certain critical value,(i.e., is greater or smaller than the critical value).

FIG. 5 is a diagram indicating how the internal pressure P1 in the pipepassage L1 rises when the tests were repeated in which the valve 4 wasswitched from the full opening state to the full closing state under thesame conditions as those in FIG. 4. In any of the tests, it was foundthat when the internal pressure P1 in the pipe passage L1 is constant (3kgf/c m²·G), the rise of the internal pressure is near-zero if the airpressure Pa supplied to the actuator, at which the valve body is stoppedand held for effecting the first step of operation, is about 1.65 kgfcm²·G).′

FIG. 6 illustrates the relationship between pressure Pa supplied to theactuator 4 a and the valve stroke ΔG(mm) in tests corresponding to thosein FIG. 4. The test conditions are as follows: (a) the internal pressureP1 in the pipe passage L1=3 kgf/c m²·G (constant) and (b) the flow rateQ=3.45 liters/min (constant) where the valve 4 is closed by themulti-step type closing process.

The valve stroke ΔG (mm) is measured using a potentiometer, and isdefined to be an amount of distance that the valve shaft moves to pressthe diaphragm valve body from above from the full closing position tothe valve opening direction.

As apparent from FIG. 6 (a) to (f), when the air pressure Pa supplied tothe actuator 4 a is 1.9 kgf/c m²·G, the valve stroke ΔG is 0.782 mm, andwhen Pa is 1.66 kgf/c m²·G, ΔG is 0.108 mm. Furthermore, when Pa is 1.65kgf/c m²·G, ΔG is 0.072 mm.

Also, as is apparent from FIG. 6(d), the occurrence of water hammerbecomes near-zero in the event that the valve stroke ΔG is 0.072 mm(i.e., the valve opening degree: 0.072/1.93×100=3.73%). That is, withthe multi-step type closing process effected under the condition thatthe internal pressure P1 in the pipe passage L1 is constant, a waterhammer occurs if the valve opening degree ΔG is not equal to the about0.072 mm, (i.e., is sufficiently larger or smaller than 0.072 mm).

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the actually measured values of thevalve stroke ΔG and the pressure rise ΔP1 in the pipe passage L1 wherethe pressure Pa supplied to the actuator 4 a is changed under the sameconditions as those provided in FIG. 6. It is observed that theoccurrence of the water hammer is near-zero in any case where theintermediate position, wherein the valve body is first stopped and heldfor the first step of the closing operation, is at the valve stroke ΔGof about 0.07 mm.

Next, tests were conducted using the test device in FIG. 1 toinvestigate water hammer prevention under the condition that theinternal pressure PT of the water tank 1 is changed. FIG. 8 (a) to (c)shows the results of these tests. FIG. 8(a) indicates that no vibratingrise of the internal pressure P1 in the pipe passage L1 is generatedduring the multi-step type closing of the valve when the pressure Pasupplied to the actuator was changed as follows: 5 kgf/c m²→1.65 kgf/cm²→0 kgf/c m², under the condition that the internal pressure PT of thetank was 3 kgf/c m²·G. On the other hand, as apparent from the arrows Aillustrated in FIG. 8 (b) and FIG. 8 (c), there are seen somefluctuations in the internal pressure P1 in the pipe passage when theinternal pressure PT of the tank is changed (i.e., the internal pressureis set at 2 kgf/c m²·G and 1 kgf/c m²·G, respectively).

FIG. 9 shows the valve strokes, measured by the potentiometer at thetime of the tests performed in FIG. 8, where the pressure Pa foroperating the actuator 4 a was 1.65 kgf/c m²·G. As shown in FIG. 9, thevalve stroke ΔG changes under the fluid (water) pressure applied to thediaphragm valve body of the valve 4 even when the pressure applied tothe actuator 4 a is the same (1.65 kgf/c m²·G). As a result, thevibrating fluctuations in the internal pressure in the pipe passage L1occur as indicated by the arrows A in FIG. 8 (b) and (c).

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the internalpressure PT of the tank and the pressure Pa for operating the actuator 4a, which can be used in the multi-step closing procedure to prevent thefluctuations of the internal pressure P1 in the pipe passage L1. Thecurve A3 shows the relationship between PT and Pa when the internalpressure PT is 3 kgf/c m²·G: The curve A2 and the curve A1 show therelationship wherein PT=2 kgf/c m²·G and PT=1 kgf/c m²·G, respectively.It is clear from the curves A3, A2, and A1 of FIG. 10 that the range ofthe pressure Pa for the actuator, capable of preventing a water hammer,varies greatly depending on the internal pressure PT of the tank.

As is apparent from the test results shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 7, in theevent that the internal pressure PT of the tank is nearly constant sothat the internal pressure P1 in the pipe passage L1 is nearly constant,then the high speed closing of the pipe passage L1 is effected, within atime period of about 500˜1000 msec, by the multi-step type closingmethod, in accordance with the present invention, which can regulate thepressure Pa supplied to operate the actuator 4 a of the valve 4 whilealmost completely preventing a water hammer. More specifically, thiseffect is observed when the normally closed-type, pneumatically operateddiaphragm valve is subjected to the multi-step closing process, (i.e.,Pa=5 kgf/c m²·G→1.65 kgf/c m²·G→0), in accordance with the presentinvention.

However, in the event that the internal pressure PT of the tank (andcorrespondingly, the internal pressure P1 in the pipe passage L1)fluctuates, as is apparent from FIG. 10, it is difficult for themulti-step type closing method of the present invention to completelyprevent the water hammer effect by only controlling the air pressure Pasupplied to the actuator 4 a. Accordingly, the present inventorsconducted a number of the multi-step type closing tests in which thevalve stroke ΔG of the valve 4 is the controlled variable, instead ofcontrolling the pressure Pa supplied to the actuator 4 a, with theinternal pressure PT of the tank being another explored parameter. Thetesting device used in these tests is almost the same as that shown inthe FIG. 1 except that a potentiometer is added for measuring the valvestroke ΔG of the valve 4.

FIG. 11 illustrates the relationship between the valve stroke ΔG ofvalve 4 and the pressure rise ΔP1 in the pipe passage L1 indicated whenthe valve 4 was subjected to the multi-step type closing process of thepresent invention, where the tank internal pressure is a test parameter.FIG. 12 is an enlarged and expanded view of a major portion of FIG. 11.In FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, curves A3, A3′ show the relationship in whichthe tank internal pressure PT=3 kgf/c m²·G is tested, while curves A2,A2′ and A1, A1′ show the relations in which PT=2 kgf/c m²·G and PT=1kgf/c m²·G, respectively.

As is apparent from FIG. 12, in the event that the multi-step typeclosing process of the present invention is performed by the valve 4 bymeans of controlling the valve stroke ΔG, it is possible to rapidlyclose the valve 4 within a short period of time, of about 500˜800 msec,from the full opening state to the full closing state without causing awater hammer. This result is achieved, irrespective as to whether theinternal pressure P1 inside the passage L1 is great or small, in such amanner that when the valve stroke ΔG reaches between 0.07-0.08 mm, thevalve closing operation is stopped for a short period of time therebyholding the valve in a partially closed state, and thereafter is resumedfor effecting the full closure of the valve 4.

The Water Hammerless Valve Device

FIG. 13 is a whole block diagram of the water hammerless valve device,according to the present invention, which was constructed based on thetest results compiled in FIG. 11, and FIG. 12, and the like. As shown inFIG. 13, the water hammerless valve device includes a valve body 10 of avalve, an actuator 11, an automatic driving force controller 12, acontrol circuit 13, and a valve stroke detector 14. In particular, thevalve body 10 is connected to the actuator 11, which operates the valvebody 10 in the same manner as actuator 4 a is connected to operate thevalve 4. The automatic driving force controller 12 is connected toreceive a signal SR from control circuit 13 and to provide actuatingoperating pressure Pa to the actuator 11. The valve stroke detector 14is disposed to measure the valve stroke ΔG and to send an input signalSP to the control circuit 13. For the purposes of this disclosure, theterm “water hammerless valve device” refers to any valve device thatoperates to close the valve body in a multi-step closing procedure so asto prevent the generation of a water hammer during closing.

The valve body 10 of the water hammerless valve device, of the presentinvention, is installed in the pipe passage L1. In this embodiment, avalve body 10 equipped with a diaphragm valve is employed. Persons ofordinary skill in the art will recognize that it is within the scope ofthe present invention to employ a valve body 10 that can be of anysuitable type. For example, the valve body 10 can also be constructed asa disc valve body of a disc valve. In addition, persons of ordinaryskill in the art will appreciate that in the non-limiting illustrativeembodiment, described in detail as follows, a diaphragm valve, havingthe valve seat of 4.00 mm in the inside diameter, is employed for thevalve provided with the valve body 10. However, the size of the valvecan be freely chosen in the range of 10 A to 100 A.

The actuator 11 is a driving part for the valve body 10. Actuator 11includes spring 11 a, piston 11 b and shaft 11 c. In this embodiment ofthe invention, a pneumatic cylinder is used as actuator 11. Inparticular, the valve body 10 is closed (i.e., in the full closingstate) when the piston 11 b is urged downward by spring 11 a, while thevalve body 10 is opened (i.e., in the full opening state or in thepartial opening state) when the piston 11 b is pushed upward against anelastic force of the spring 11 a by the driving pressure Pa suppliedfrom the automatic driving force controller 12. In this illustrativeembodiment, in accordance with the present invention, a pneumaticcylinder is employed as the actuator 11; however, persons of ordinaryskill in the art should recognize that other types of actuators, such asthe hydraulic cylinder-type actuator or the electric (i.e., solenoid,motor or piezo-electric element) type actuator can be employed as too asthe actuator 11.

In this illustrative embodiment of the present invention, the normallyclosed-type valve, such as valve 4, is employed; however, a valve 4 ofthe normally opened-type can alternatively be employed too. Furthermore,in the present embodiment, the valve is closed by means of increasingthe driving pressure Pa supplied to the actuator 11. However, the valvecan be of the type so constructed that it is closed by means of reducingthe driving pressure Pa supplied to the actuator 11.

In the illustrative embodiment shown in FIG. 13, the driving forcesupplied to the actuator 11 is adjusted by the automatic driving forcecontroller 12. The automatic driving force controller used in thisembodiment is constructed so that the air pressure Pao supplied from apressurization source, such as a compressor (not illustrated) and thelike, is controlled to the prescribed pressure Pa so that airpressurized to the pressure Pa is supplied to the actuator 11. Personsof ordinary skill in the art would realize that the automatic drivingforce controller 12 is an electric output controller when an electricpower driven-type actuator is used as the actuator 11.

In the water hammerless device shown in FIG. 13, there are a number ofsignals inputted into the control circuit 13. These inputs include (a) adetection signal Sp, for the valve stroke ΔG, generated by the valvestroke detector 14, (b) an opening/closing command signal S sent by avalve operator to the valve body 10, (c) a setting signal SG for settingthe intermediate stoppage position (i.e., that is, the controlled valvestroke ΔG) in the multi-step type closing operation, and the like. Fromthe control circuit 13, a pressure control signal SR, which outputs thecontrolled pressure Pa required to give the prescribed valve stroke ΔG,is outputted to the automatic driving force controller 12. Inparticular, the valve stroke detection signal SP from the valve strokedetector 14, and the setting signal SG for setting the intermediatestoppage position, are compared with each other in the control circuit13 so that the air pressure Pa supplied to the actuator 11 is adjustedso as to bring a difference between signals SP and SG to nil. Althoughthe control circuit 13 and the automatic driving force controller 12 areillustrated separately in FIG. 13, it is within the scope of the presentinvention to integrate the control circuit and the automatic drivingforce controller into a single integrated component.

With further reference to FIG. 13, in the normal state of the waterhammerless valve device, the air pressure Pa of a prescribed pressurevalue (for example, 5 kgf/c m²·G) is supplied from the automatic drivingforce controller 12 to the actuator 11, thus pushing the piston 11 bupward against the spring 11 a so that the valve body 10 is fully opened(i.e., in the full opening state). Now, in the state of an emergency,when a valve closing command signal S is inputted to the control circuit13 the valve body 10 is urgently closed using the so-called multi-stepclosing operation of the present invention. Under these circumstances,the air pressure Pa supplied to the actuator 11 is instantly lowered tothe given pressure value (for example, 1.65 kgf/c m²·G) by the valvestroke setting signal SG, thereby permitting the elastic force of thespring 11 a to lower the piston 11 b so that the valve body (notillustrated in detail) connected to the shaft 11 c is lowered to such anextent that a prescribed valve stroke ΔG is reached. And then, the valvebody is stopped and held for a short period of time (for example,300˜500 m sec).

When the valve body 10 is operated by the actuator 11, the strokedetection signal SP from the valve stroke detector 14 is inputted to thecontrol circuit 13. The stroke detection signal SP, and the valve strokesetting signal SG, are compared with each other for the purpose ofadjusting the control air pressure Pa so that the valve stroke ΔG of thevalve body 10 is brought to a prescribed position in 100-200 msec, andheld there. After the valve shaft 11 c has been halted for a shortperiod of time (300-500 msec), at the position which permits the valvestroke ΔG to take the prescribed position, the valve shaft 11 c islowered instantly to the valve full closing position by lowering the airpressure Pa to 0 using the automatic driving force controller 12.

With this operation, in accordance with the multi-step closing processof the present invention, the valve body 10 can be fully closed, withoutcausing a water hammer, by taking about 300 to 1000 msec for the fullclosure of the water hammerless valve device (i.e., in this embodimentthe valve is constructed to correspond to the diameter of the pipepassage: 4 mm). In this illustrative, non-limiting embodiment of thepresent invention, operation has been explained mainly with respect tothe case where a diaphragm-type pneumatically operated valve, having thevalve seat of 4.00 mm in the inside diameter, is used. However, personsof ordinary skill in the art should realize that the present inventioncan be applied to bigger types of valves (for example, valves of size 25A to 100 A), such as glove valves or disc valves.

FIG. 14 illustrates a basic block diagram of a water hammerless closingdevice of the fluid passage, in accordance with another embodiment thepresent invention. The water hammerless closing device shown in FIG. 14is distinguished from the water hammerless valve device shown in FIG. 13in that the closing device includes two additional controlled elements,(i.e., a valve closing time T and an allowable pressure rise value PM).In other words, a water hammerless closing device, in accordance withthe present invention includes (a) a water hammerless valve device asshown in FIG. 13, (b) a primary side pressure detection sensor PC, (c) adetection sensor TC for detecting the valve closing time, and (d) acomputing/storage circuit 15 to which the detected values P1 and T areinputted.

As shown in FIG. 14, the computing/storage circuit 15 is connected tosend the setting signal SG to control circuit 13 and to receive a detecttime T signal from detection sensor TC. The computing/storage circuit 15is also connected to receive pressure detection signal P1 from primaryside pressure detection sensor PC, which is connected to detect theinternal pressure P1 in the fluid passage L1.

Furthermore, a closing time setting signal TS is also inputted to thecontrol circuit 13 of the water hammerless valve device and to thecomputing/storage circuit 15. The operation speed of the actuator 11(that is, the state of application of operation pressure Pa to theactuator 11) is controlled by adjusting an output state of the drivingforce control signal SR outputted to the automatic driving forcecontroller 12 from the control circuit 13, thereby adjusting the timetaken while moving the valve body 10 from the full opening state thevalve body 10 to the full closing state. Of course, the time settingsignal TS is used to determine the driving force control signal SR.

The valve closing time detection sensor TC is attached to the actuator11 to detect time T from the start of the operation of the valve shaft11 c (i.e., corresponding to opening the valve) to the stop of theoperation (i.e., corresponding to closing the valve) so that time T, asdetected by the detection sensor TC, is inputted to thecomputing/storage circuit 15. The pressure detection sensor PC isinstalled at the primary side fluid passage L1 and inputs the detectedvalue P1 of the fluid pressure to the computing/storage circuit 15.

The computing/storage device 15 is provided with (i) a pressurecomparison circuit, (ii) a time comparison circuit, (iii) a computingcircuit and (iv) a storage circuit. Comparison between the allowablepressure rise value setting signal PM and the pressure detection signalP1 is effected at the pressure comparison circuit of thecomputing/storage circuit 15, while comparison between the closing timesetting signal TS and the closing time detection signal T is effected atthe time comparison circuit of the computing/storage circuit 15.

In the storage circuit of the computing/storage circuit 15, there arestored a large amount of data relating to the relation between thestroke setting value and the pressure rise value of the valve body 10 asis actually measured in advance of operation of the valve body, in whichthe closing time T is a parameter.

Furthermore, in the event that the pressure detection signal P1 exceedsthe allowable pressure rise value setting signal PM, depending uponwhether or not the closing time T exceeds the closing time settingsignal TS, the computing circuit of the computing/storage circuit 15selects certain data relating to the pressure rise value and the strokesetting value stored in the storage circuit, wherein in this selecteddata the closing time T stored in the storage circuit is shorter than,but closest to, the closing time setting signal TS. In particular, thecomputing circuit selects out of the data the stroke setting signal SGcorresponding to which pressure detection value P1 is less than theallowable pressure rise value setting signal PM, and then inputs thisstroke setting signal SG to the control circuit 13.

The minimum value of the closing time setting signal TS is limited bythe operation characteristics of the valve body 10, or of the actuator11. Normally, the minimum value of the closing time setting signal TS isset at the value of 1-3 sec. However, the closing time setting signal TSfor the valve body 10 is selected as long as possible within theallowable range. This selection is made because the longer the closingtime, the less likely a water hammer is to occur.

When the water hammerless closing device is used, the closing timesetting signal TS and allowable pressure rise value setting signal PMare inputted into the computing/storage circuit 15 so that anappropriate stroke setting signal SG is retrieved and outputted from thestorage circuit of the computing/storage device 15, and inputted to thecontrol circuit 13.

When the fluid passage L1 is to be closed, the valve opening/closingcommand signal S is inputted, from a switch or other like controldevice, to the control circuit 13, thereby switching the valve body 10from the full opening state to the full closing state. At this time, ifthe internal pressure P1 of the primary side passage vibrates due to theoccurrence of water hammer, the pressure detection signal P1 is fed backfrom the pressure detection sensor PC and compared with the allowablepressure rise value setting signal. If the pressure detection signal P1is found to exceed the allowable pressure rise setting value PM, a newstroke setting signal SG is selected by the computing circuit, and isinputted to the control circuit 13.

As a result of the operation of the computing/storage circuit 15 asdescribed above, the stem 11 c of the valve body 10 is immediatelyreturned to a new stroke position so that the pressure rise caused bythe afore-mentioned water hammer is brought to the value lower than theallowable maximum pressure rise value PM when the valve body 10undergoes the next opening/closing operation.

FIG. 15 and FIG. 16 illustrate a basic construction of a secondembodiment of the water hammerless closing device in accordance with thepresent invention. This second embodiment of the water hammerlessclosing device is utilized mainly when it is difficult to attach thepressure detector Pc to the existing upstream side passage L1, or whenit is difficult to attach the valve stroke detector (i.e., the positiondetector) to the valve body 10, which distinguishes this secondembodiment of the water hammerless closing device from the firstembodiment shown in FIG. 14.

With reference to FIG. 15 and FIG. 16, the water hammerless closingdevice, in accordance with the second embodiment, includes (a) acombination-type of valve body 10, in which the valve stroke detector 13is removed from the water hammerless valve device shown in FIG. 13, (b)the actuator 11, (c) an electro-pneumatic conversion control device 17,(d) the computing control device 16, which is capable of stepwiseswitching of the of actuator operation pressure Pa and of controllingthe pressure holding time Ts after the stepwise switching, and (e) avibration sensor 18 removably secured to the upstream side passage L1.The vibration sensor 18 is secured to the upstream side passage L1 sothat stepwise switching (i.e., switching to Ps (step pressure: Ps) fromPa max shown in FIG. 16(a)) of the actuator operating pressure Pa,applied to the actuator 11 for the valve body 10, and the holding timeTs for the step pressure Ps can be appropriately selected so as to makeit possible to determine, and memorize in advance, the closingconditions of the valve body 10 that permit water hammerless closing.

In other words, as shown in FIG. 15 and FIG. 16, the computing controldevice 16, the electro-pneumatic conversion control device 17, thevibration sensor 18, the valve driving gas source 6, the valve body 10,and the actuator 11 are all components of the water hammerless closingdevice embodiment shown in these Figures. The valve driving gas source 6is connected to provide driving pressure Pao to the electro-pneumaticconversion unit 17 c of the electro-pneumatic conversion control device17. Driving pressure Pao (about 0.6 MPa in this embodiment) from thevalve driving gas source 6 is converted to the stepwise operatingpressure Pa, as shown in FIG. 16(a), by means of the electro-pneumaticconversion device 17, then the stepwise operating pressure Pa is appliedto the actuator 11.

The actuator operating pressure Pa applied to the actuator 11, and theholding time Ts for the operating pressure Pa, are controlled in amanner described below by a control signal Sc arising from the computingcontrol device 16. The control signal Sc has been obtained, in advanceof the instant valve closing operation, on the basis of the closingoperation tests previously performed on the valve body 10 in eachupstream side pipe passage L1. In addition, the vibration sensor 18 andthe computing control device 16 are removed from the upstream side pipepassage L1 upon completion of the selection, or determination, of thecontrol signal Sc obtained by performing the closing operation tests onthe valve body 10.

More specifically, the computing control device 16 is provided with (a)a setting circuit 16 a for setting the step pressure Ps, (b) a settingcircuit 16 b for the pressure holding time setting signal, (c) a settingcircuit 16 c for determining the allowable upper limit vibrationpressure setting signal Prm, (d) a pipe passage vibration pressuredetection circuit 16 d, and (e) a comparison computing circuit 16 e.Furthermore, signal input that is input into the computing controldevice 16 includes (i) a vibration detection signal Pr, caused bychanges of the internal pressure P1 at the time of closing the valvebody 10 and as detected by the vibration sensor 18, (ii) a step pressuresetting signal Ps, (iii) a step pressure holding time setting signal Ts,and (iv) an allowable upper limit vibration pressure setting signal Prm.In accordance with the present invention, Ps, Ts and P are selected, andthen Ps is modified based on the vibration detection signal Pr untilwater hammerless closing of the valve body 10 is achieved.

To achieve this result, the vibration detection signal Pr and theallowable upper limit vibration pressure setting signal Prm are comparedat the comparison computing circuit 16 e of the computing control device16. In the event that a difference is found between these two signals,the step pressure setting signal Ps is modified as will be explainedbelow so that a modified control signal Sc, including the modified steppressure setting signal Ps and the holding time setting signal Ts, isinputted to a data storage unit of the electro-pneumatic conversioncontrol device 17. This modified control signal Sc is inputted into thedata storage unit 17 a, which inputs a signal Sc′ to the signalconversion unit 17 b, which inputs a signal Se to electro-pneumaticconversion unit 17 c, which then supplies a modified actuator operatingpressure Pa to the actuator 11.

The electro-pneumatic conversion control device 17 is provided with adata storage unit 17 a, a signal conversion unit 17 b (such as signalgenerator 7), and an electro pneumatic conversion unit 17 c (such as anelectro-pneumatic conversion device 5). The actuator operating pressurePa, to be supplied to the actuator 11, is switched in a stepwise manneras shown in FIG. 16(a) by inputting the actuator operating controlsignal Se from the signal conversion unit 17 b to the electro-pneumaticconversion unit 17 c. As shown in FIG. 15, the valve opening/closingcommand signal S and the switching signal So, dealing with the type (NO:normally opened-type valve or NC: normally closed-type valve) of thevalve body 10 are inputted to the electro-pneumatic conversion controldevice 17.

Referring again to FIGS. 15 and 16, first, the vibration sensor 18 isfixed in the pipe passage L1. Then, the step pressure setting signal Ps,the step pressure holding time setting signal Ts, and the allowableupper limit vibrating pressure setting signal Prm are appropriatelyinputted to the computing control device 16. Likewise, the valve bodyswitching signal So and the actuator operating fluid supply pressure Paofor the electro-pneumatic conversion control device 17 are appropriatelyset and inputted. Thereafter, the valve opening/closing command signal Sis inputted to effectuate supply of the actuator operating pressure Pa,as shown in FIG. 16 for example, to the actuator 11 for the valve body10.

Now, the stepwise closing operation of the valve body 10 is explained asfollows with reference to FIG. 16(a). At the time T1, the fluid passageof the valve body 10 is partially closed and is brought to theintermediate closure when the actuator operating pressure Pa is loweredfrom Pa max to Ps. Furthermore, at the time T2, when the set holdingtime Ts has elapsed, the valve body 10 is completely closed by bringingthe actuator operating pressure Pa to zero. In the meantime, if theinternal pressure P1 of the pipe passage L1 is changed due to theoccurrence of water hammer (See, for example curves A1 and A2 in FIG.16(b)), the change is detected by the vibration sensor 18 such that thevibration detection signal Pr is inputted to the computing controldevice 16.

As part of the operation of the water hammerless closing device of FIG.15, the detection signal Pr and the allowable upper limit vibratingpressure setting signal Prm are compared at the computing control device16. The step pressure setting signal Ps is subsequently modified andslightly lowered in the case where, although the vibration does notoccur or falls within an allowable range at the position of A1 (i.e., attime t1), the vibration exceeds the allowable value Prm at the positionof A2 (i.e., at time t2). Then, the modified step pressure settingsignal Ps, and the holding time setting signal Ts for the signal Ps, areoutputted together as the control signal Sc from the computing controldevice 16 to the electro-pneumatic conversion control device 17 so thatthe same closing operation tests on the valve body 10 are repeatedthereafter.

On the other hand, in the case where the vibration occurring at theposition of A1 (i.e., at time t1) exceeds the allowable upper limitvibrating pressure setting signal Prm, the setting signal Ps is modifiedand slightly raised. Under these circumstances, the appropriatelymodified setting signal is outputted as the modified control signal Scfrom the computing control device 16 to the electro-pneumatic conversioncontrol device 17 so that the same closing operation tests on the valvebody 10 are repeated thereafter.

By repeating the operation tests as explained above, the intermediateoperating pressure Ps (i.e., the step pressure setting signal Ps) forthe actuator 11 required to achieve water hammerless closing of the pipepassage L1, which is equipped with the vibration sensor 18, is selectedwith respect to the prescribed step pressure holding time setting signalTs (i.e., valve closing time Ts). This selection is made so the controlsignal Sc selected corresponds to the most suitable step pressuresetting signal Ps for causing no water hammer and to the holding timesetting time Ts for the signal Ps stored in the data storage unit 17 aof the electro-pneumatic conversion control device 17. In this way,effective closing of the pipe passage L1 is conducted thereafter bycontrolling the actuator operating pressure Pa on the basis of thestored control signal Sc.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 15 and FIG. 16, the actuator operatingpressure Pa is switched and controlled in 2 steps. However, it is withinthe scope of the present invention to operate the valve body 10 of thewater hammerless closing device of the present invention so that it canbe switched from the full opening state to the full closing state, andvice versa, in 3 steps or 4 steps when necessary. In addition, while thestep holding time setting signal Ts is normally set at about 0.5 to 1second, it has been observed that the shorter the time Ts becomes, themore difficult it will be to find the necessary conditions for effectinga water hammerless closing. However, it is within the scope of thepresent invention to utilize a holding time setting signal Ts that isshorter than 0.5 to 1 second.

FIG. 17 illustrates a third embodiment, in accordance with the presentinvention, for the method to close the fluid passage, and the waterhammerless closing device used in the method. As shown in FIG. 17,another water hammerless closing device constructed, in accordance withthe present invention, includes the pipe passage L1, the valve body 10,the air actuator 11, the vibration sensor 18, the tuning box 19, and theelectro-pneumatic conversion device 20. The water hammerless closingdevice of the embodiment shown in FIG. 17 is nearly the same as that ofthe embodiment shown in FIG. 15.

However, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 17, there is the tuning box 19to which the vibration detection signal Pr, from the vibration sensor 18installed upstream of the valve body 10, is outputted as a feedbacksignal. Tuning box 19 detects the occurrence of a water hammer by usingthe feedback signal Pr and outputs the actuator operating pressurecontrol signal Sc to the electro-pneumatic conversion device 20. Usingthis construction, another water hammerless closing device, foroptimizing the 2-step actuator operating pressure Pa to be supplied tothe air actuator 11, is provided. Specifically, as stated below, theoptimal values of the step operating pressure Ps′ of the actuatoroperating pressure Pa illustrated in FIG. 21, and the step operatingpressure holding time t, are computed so that the control signal Sc foroutputting such an actuator operating pressure Pa from theelectro-pneumatic conversion device 20 to the actuator 11 is outputtedto the electro-pneumatic conversion device 20.

Furthermore, the tuning box 19 is provided with a switch for switchingover the control signal Sc, in accordance with the operation type (N.O.,i.e. Normally Opened Type or N.C., i.e. Normally Closed Type), of theair actuator 11 of the valve body 10.

FIG. 18 illustrates an illustrative, non-limiting example of the screendisplay of a personal computer, which forms a major portion of thetuning box 19. Displayed on the screen of this personal computer are:(a) the state of opening/closing of the valve body 10, (b) the actuatoroperating pressure Pa to the air actuator 11, (c) the state of vibrationof the pipe passage L1, (c) the step operating pressure Ps′ and pipevibration values, (d) the condition setting for auto-tuning, (e) thecondition setting for manual opening/closing, (f) the operation type ofthe valve body 10, and the like.

The electro-pneumatic conversion device 20 of the water hammerlessclosing device of FIG. 17 is a combination of the signal converter andthe electro-pneumatic converter, and includes, as shown in FIG. 19, (i)an air supply electromagnetic valve B, (ii) an air dischargeelectromagnetic valve F, (iii) a pressure sensor E, and (iv) a controlcircuit A. The conversion device 20 is almost the same as the one shownin FIGS. 2(a) and (b), at least with regard to the basic construction.For example, an air pressure not less than 0.6 MPa is supplied to theair supply electromagnetic valve B, and the air pressure of 0 to-0.5 MPais outputted to the air actuator 11 as the actuator operating pressurecontrol pressure Pa.

On the other hand, the control circuit A of the electro-pneumaticconversion device 20 is provided with a substrate A1, an externalinput/output interface Ao, and other components, and the externalinput/output interface Ao is provided with 2 connectors Ac and Ad. Asupply power source (DC24 or 12V), an opening/closing signal I (voltageinput or no-voltage input) and a pressure monitor (0˜5 DCV·0˜981 KpaG)are connected to the connector Ad while the tuning box 19 is connectedto the connector Ac. Thus, connector Ac is connected to receive thecontrol signal Sc.

FIG. 20 illustrates the performance flow of the steps of the auto-tuningmethod used by the water hammerless closing device shown in FIG. 17.FIG. 21 illustrates the relative relations between the actuatoroperating pressure Pa supplied to the air actuator 11 and the occurrenceof vibration. As in the case illustrated by FIG. 16, a 2-step actuatoroperating pressure is applied as the actuator operating pressure Paemployed in the method outlined in FIG. 20.

Referring to FIG. 20 and to FIG. 17, the vibration sensor 18 is fixed atthe predetermined position of the pipe passage L1 (i.e., within about1000 mm upstream of the valve body 10, and preferably at the position ofabout 100 to 1000 mm upstream thereof), and the tuning box 19 and theelectro-pneumatic conversion device 20 are set respectively.

Next, with the water hammerless closing device ready for operation, theauto-tuning start signal is inputted in Step S1. Then, in Step S2, thevalve is kept in the state of full opening for about 2 seconds, andthen, in Step S3, the 2-step actuator operating pressure Pa is appliedfor controlling the valve. In this case, the holding time t of the stepoperating pressure Ps′ is set at 0.5-1 sec as will be stated later.

Vibration occurring in the pipe passage L1, due to the closing of thevalve body 10, is detected and confirmed by the vibration detectionsignal Pr from the vibration sensor 18 in Step S4. Subsequently, theauto-tuning algorithm has a branch point where it is checked whether thevibration occurs at the point A, or the point B, in FIG. 21. Checkingfor vibration at point A is Step S5 and checking for vibration at pointB is Step S6. In the event that vibration occurs at point A, the stepoperating pressure Ps′ of the actuator operating pressure Pa isincreased in Step S7. On the other hand, in the event that vibrationoccurs at point B, then the step operating pressure Ps′ is decreased inStep S8.

Through the repetition (i.e., normally 2 or 3 times to 15 times) of theclosing control of the valve body 10, the actuator operating pressure Pahaving the most suitable step operating pressure Ps′ for causing novibration is eventually obtained. The control signal Sc outputting the2-step actuator operating pressure Pa obtained by auto-tuning, and whichis capable of the complete prevention of vibration during closing, isinputted to the electro-pneumatic device 20 for closing the valve body10. Ins addition, the operating pressure holding time t, of the 2-stepactuator operating pressure Pa to be supplied at the time ofauto-tuning, is preferably as short as possible. When employing thepneumatic actuator 11, it is desirable to make time t shorter than 1sec.

With reference to FIG. 20 and FIG. 21, the following comments are madeassuming that a normally closed-type pneumatic diaphragm valve is usedin the water hammerless closing device to close the valve body, which isplaced in the opened state by supplying an actuator operating pressurePa. In other words, it is possible to effect the water hammerlessclosing of a normally closed-type pneumatic diaphragm valve bydecreasing the actuator operating pressure in two steps. It is, however,possible that a normally opened-type pneumatic diaphragm valve can beused to effect the water hammerless closing by raising the actuatoroperating pressure Pa in two steps. In this case, the step operatingpressure Ps′ of the actuator operating pressure Pa is adjustedoppositely to the case of the normally closed-type pneumatic diaphragmvalve. That is, the step operating pressure Ps′ is lowered if vibrationoccurs when the first step actuator operating pressure Pa rise iseffected and the step operating pressure Ps′ is raised if the vibrationoccurs when the second step actuator operating pressure Pa rise iseffected.

FIG. 22 illustrates the relationship between the step operation holdingtime t and the pressure rise value ΔP (MPaG) of the fluid lines in which3 types of pipe passages, with the fluid line pressures of 0.098 MPa,0.198 MPa and 0.294 MPa, respectively, are closed using the 2-stepoperating pressure Pa of 0.490 MPaG-0.19 MPaG-0 MPaG with the pneumaticvalve (19.05 mm) whose inner volume does not change at the valveopening/closing time. It is shown by FIG. 22 that the pressure rise ΔPcan be brought to near-zero if the step operation holding time t exceeds1 second, while the pressure rise ΔP will be great if the step operationholding time t is less than 0.5 second.

Thus, when the auto-tuning operation is completed and the control signalSc capable of water-hammerless-closing the pipe passage L is obtained(that is, the control signal Sc for outputting the 2-step actuatoroperation pressure Pa for achieving water-hammerless-closing isobtained), the data on the control signal Sc (that is, corresponding tothe operating pressure Pa) is transmitted to the electro-pneumaticconversion device 20 and is separately stored. Then, the auto-tuning box19 and the vibration sensor 18 are removed from the water hammerlessclosing device. In the event that the rapid closure of the valve body 10is required, the data on the control signal Sc, previously obtained inadvance by auto-tuning, is utilized so that the 2-step actuator workingpressure Pa capable of providing water hammerless closing is outputtedfrom the electro-pneumatic conversion device 20 to the actuator 11 ofthe valve body 10.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 17, when the auto-tuning operation iscompleted and the actuator operating pressure Pa (i.e., the stepoperating pressure Ps′ and its holding time t) has been determined, thedata on the operating pressure Pa is transmitted to theelectro-pneumatic conversion device 20. Then, the vibration sensor 18and the tuning box 19 are completely removed from the water hammerlessclosing device. However, it is within the scope of the present inventionto construct the tuning box 19 so that it is made small in size andintegrated with the electro-pneumatic conversion device 20. In thiscase, the tuning box 19 is not removed because it forms a portion of theintegrated tuning box/electro-pneumatic conversion device structure.

Feasibility of Industrial Use

The present invention is applicable not only to the supply pipes forwater, steam, liquid and the like for industrial use, but the presentinvention is also applicable to the supply pipes for household water/hotwater, the supply pipes for fluids (liquids) used in the semiconductormanufacturing plants, chemical and other industrial plants and the like.In particular, the present invention is applicable to the chamberapparatus, and wafer cleaning devices, used in semiconductormanufacturing and in various types of etching devices.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, in the event that the fluid pressureis constant, the valve body is moved to, and at once held at, apredetermined position for a short time in the initial valve openingoperation by holding the driving force to the actuator at a set value,or by holding the valve stroke ΔG of the valve at a prescribed position,by adjusting the driving force to the actuator. Thereafter, the valvebody is moved to a full closing position. As a result, the fluid passagecan be safely closed in an extremely short of period time (for example,300-1000 m sec) without causing a water hammer by setting the value ofthe afore-mentioned driving force, or the value of the valve stroke ΔGof the valve, within a suitable range.

Furthermore, in accordance with the present invention, in the event thatthe fluid pressure fluctuates, a method is employed in which (a) thevalve stroke ΔG is an element to control, (b) the valve closingoperation is halted for a short period of time when the valve strokereaches the ΔG in the range previously set in advance, which causes nowater hammer effect at the valve closing time, and then (c) the valvebody is moved from the position having the valve stroke ΔG to the valveclosing position (i.e., the valve stroke ΔG=0). As a result, the fluidpassage is sure to be emergently-closed without causing a water hammer,regardless of the materials or structure of the valve body.

Furthermore, in accordance with the present invention, the valve isclosed by the valve closing operation in which the valve stroke ΔG ofthe valve body is detected and fed back to the control circuit so thatthe valve stroke ΔG can reach a predetermined value, promptly andaccurately, at the time when the valve body is closed. Subsequently, thevalve is moved swiftly from the point of the set valve stroke ΔG to afull closing position. As a result of the operation of the structuredescribed above, it is possible to close the fluid passage in anextremely short period of time without causing a Water hammer althoughthe device is simple in the structure, thereby solving all the problemscaused by the vibration pressure rise inside the fluid passage.

Also, in accordance with the present invention, the pressure detectionvalue P1 detected by the pressure detection sensor PC and the closingtime detection signal T detected by the closing time detection sensor TCof the valve body 10 are fed back to the computing/storage device 15 sothat the stroke setting signal SG, to be inputted to the control circuit13 of the water hammerless valve device, is controlled and brought tothe optimum stroke setting signal in the set closing time. As a result,in the event that the passage internal pressure exceeds the allowablepressure rise value at the time when the passage is closed, the strokesetting signal SG is automatically modified to the optimum value, thuscompletely preventing an expected water hammer to be caused in thefuture by exceeding the allowable maximum pressure rise value at thetime of closing of the fluid passage.

Furthermore, in accordance with the present invention, the vibrationsensor 18 is removably attached to the pipe passage L1, and thevibration detection signal Pr detected by the vibration sensor 18 is fedback to the computing control device 16 so that the actuator operatingpressure Pa applied to the actuator 11 of the valve body 10 iscontrolled through the electro-pneumatic conversion control device 17,thereby effecting the water hammerless closing method. As a result,water hammerless valve closing is achieved without the stroke positiondetection device being installed in the valve body 10, or without thepressure detector being installed in the pipe passage L1. Upon obtainingthe conditions for the optimum water hammerless valve closing (that is,the conditions to control the actuator operating pressure Pacorresponding to water hammerless closing) for the targeted pipe passageL1, the vibration sensor 18 and the computing control device 16 can beremoved and applied to another pipe passage, thus making the deviceeconomically advantageous.

Furthermore, in accordance with the present invention, the vibrationsensor 18 is installed in the neighborhood of the valve body 10 in thepipe line passage which is put to actual operation, and the valve body10 is actually operated for opening and closing by applying thepredetermined 2-step actuator operating pressure Pa to the actuator 11of the valve body 10 from the electro-pneumatic conversion device 20 sothat the optimum value of the step operating pressure Ps′ of the 2-stepactuator operating pressure Pa is selected on the basis of the actualoperation of the valve body 10. At the same time, the selected actuatoroperating pressure Pa is stored in the storage device of theelectro-pneumatic conversion device 20. As a result, urgent closing ofthe valve body 10 can be achieved accurately and promptly by theemploying actuator operating pressure Pa from the electro-pneumaticconversion device 20 without causing a water hammer in the fluidpassage.

In addition, the selection and setting (i.e., tuning) of theafore-mentioned 2-step actuator operating pressure Pa can be completedwith ease by actually operating the valve body 10 five or six times.Furthermore, the actuator operating pressure Pa having a suitable stepoperating pressure Ps′ is applied to the actuator 11 so that theamplitude value of the pressure vibration can be brought to a valuelower than the value for the first actual closing of the valve body 10.This makes it possible to accurately obtain the optimum value of theafore-mentioned actuator operating pressure Pa in advance, withoutadversely affecting the pipe passage.

Furthermore, by utilizing a personal computer, the selection and setting(tuning) of the afore-mentioned 2-step actuator operating pressure Pacan be effected promptly with extreme ease, and also the waterhammerless closing device can be manufactured at low cost.

While the present invention has been described with reference to certainillustrative embodiments, one of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize that additions, deletions, substitutions, modifications andimprovements can be made while remaining within the spirit and scope ofthe present invention as defined by the appended claims.

1-19. (canceled)
 20. A method for closing a fluid passage with a nearlyconstant internal pressure in the passage, by using an actuatoroperated-type valve installed in the passage, wherein the methodcomprises the steps of: (a) first, moving a valve body in a valveclosing direction by increasing, or decreasing, a driving input to anactuator to a predetermined value; (b) maintaining the driving input tothe actuator at the predetermined value for a short time; and then (c)further increasing, or decreasing, the driving input so the valve bodyis brought to a fully closed state to close the fluid passage withoutcausing a water hammer.
 21. A method as claimed in claim 20, wherein theshort time is from about 300 msec to about 500 msec.
 22. A method forclosing a fluid passage with a nearly constant internal pressure in thepassage, by using an actuator operated-type valve installed in thepassage, wherein the method comprises the steps of: (a) first, movingthe valve body in a valve closing direction by increasing, ordecreasing, a driving input to an actuator to bring a valve stroke closeto a predetermined value; (b) maintaining the valve stroke at thepredetermined value for a short time; and then (c) further increasing,or decreasing, the driving input to the actuator is so the valve body isbrought to a fully closed state to close the fluid passage withoutcausing a water hammer.
 23. A method as claimed in claim 22, wherein theshort time is from about 300 msec to about 500 msec.
 24. A method forclosing a fluid passage having a non-constant pipe passage internalpressure, by using an actuator operated-type valve installed in thefluid passage, wherein the method comprises the steps of: (a) first,moving a valve body in a valve closing direction by increasing, ordecreasing, a driving input to an actuator to bring a valve stroke closeto a predetermined value; (b) maintaining the valve stroke at thepredetermined value for a short time; and then, (c) further increasing,or decreasing, the driving input to the actuator so the valve body isbrought to a fully closed state to close the fluid passage withoutcausing a water hammer.
 25. A method as claimed in claim 24, wherein theshort time is from about 300 msec to about 500 msec.
 26. A method forclosing a fluid passage as claimed in claim 20, wherein the valve bodyis a component of a valve selected from the group consisting of anormally closed-type pneumatic diaphragm valve and a constant volume,normally closed-type pneumatic diaphragm valve whose inside volumeremains unchanged at a time when the valve is in operation.
 27. A methodfor closing a fluid passage as claimed in claim 20, wherein the timeneeded to close the valve is set to be extremely short, and a rise valueof the pressure of the fluid passage is permitted to be within 10% of afirst pressure value occurring before the valve body is closed.
 28. Amethod as claimed in claim 27, wherein the extremely short time formoving the valve to close from a fully opened state to the fully closedstate is about 300 msec to about 1000 msec.
 29. A method as claimed inclaim 27, wherein the extremely short time to close the valve, from afully opened state to a partially closed state corresponding to thevalve stroke at the predetermined value, is about 100 msec to about 200msec.
 30. A water hammerless valve device for closing a fluid passage,comprising: (a) a valve body; (b) an actuator connected to drive thevalve body; (c) an automatic driving force controller for adjusting adriving force inputted to the actuator; (d) a valve stroke detectordisposed to detect a valve stroke of the valve body; and (e) a controlcircuit connected to receive input including a valve opening/closingcommand signal S, a valve stroke detection signal Sp and a valve strokesetting signal SG, and the control circuit is connected to output adriving force controlling signal SR to the automatic driving forcecontroller so the valve body is completely closed by the actuator afterthe valve stroke of the valve body is maintained at a set value for ashort period of time.
 31. A water hammerless valve device as claimed inclaim 30, wherein the short period of time is from about 300 msec toabout 500 msec.
 32. A water hammerless valve device as claimed in claim30, wherein the valve body is a component of a diaphragm-type valve andthe actuator is a pneumatically operated-type actuator.
 33. A waterhammerless valve device as claimed in claim 30, wherein the valve bodyis a component of a normally closed-type diaphragm-type valve, theactuator is an air pressure driven-type actuator, and the time neededfor fully closing the valve is set, in the control circuit, to beextremely short.
 34. A water hammerless valve device as claimed in claim33, wherein the extremely short time needed for fully closing the valveis set at from about 300 msec to about 1000 msec.
 35. A water hammerlessclosing device for a fluid passage, comprising: (a) a water hammerlessvalve device having i. a valve body; ii. an actuator connected to drivethe valve body; iii. an actuator driving force controller for adjustinga driving force inputted to the actuator; iv. a valve stroke detectordisposed to detect a valve stroke of the valve body; and v. a controlcircuit connected to receive input including a valve opening/closingcommand signal S, a valve stroke detection signal Sp and a valve strokesetting signal SG, and the control circuit is connected to output adriving force controlling signal SR to the automatic driving forcecontroller so the valve body is completely closed by the actuator afterthe valve stroke of the vale body is maintained at a set value for ashort period of time; (b) a pressure detection sensor disposed to detectfluid pressure in a primary side passage; and (c) a computing/storagedevice having i. a comparison circuit connected to receive inputincluding a pressure detection signal P1 detecting internal pressure inthe side passage and originating from the pressure detection sensor, aclosing time detection signal T originating from a closing timedetection sensor, an allowable pressure rise valve setting signal PM,and a closing time setting signal Ts, wherein a first comparison betweenthe pressure detection signal P1 and the allowable pressure rise valvesetting signal PM and a second comparison between the closing timedetection signal T and the closing time setting signal TS are effectedby the comparison circuit; ii. a storage circuit for holding the datarelating to a relation between a pressure rise value and a strokesetting value corresponding to a closing time; and iii. a computingcircuit for selecting the most suitable stroke setting value, for theallowable pressure rise value setting signal PM and for the closing timesetting signal TS, out of comparison results in the comparison circuit.36. A water hammerless closing device as claimed in claim 35, whereinthe short period of time is from about 300 msec to about 500 msec.
 37. Awater hammerless closing device as claimed in claim 35, wherein thecontrol circuit of the water hammerless valve device is constructed sothe closing time setting signal TS is inputted into the control circuitand the control circuit operates to control the time for closing thefluid passage by adjusting an operation speed of the actuator at thetime the valve body is closed.